2011 Weekly Awards Food

Best place to eat with your hands: Hot N Juicy Crawfish

Forget plates. Screw silverware. Leave clean fingers for people at stuffier spots. At Chinatown’s Hot N Juicy Crawfish, diners dig in with both hands—grabbing well-spiced crustaceans out of plastic bags, ripping them from their shells and polishing them off by the pound. Pick your seasoning, your heat level and your craving—options include oysters, crab, shrimp and, of course, crawdaddies—tie on your bib and get to work. The seafood comes hot; the atmosphere is crab-shack casual; and the beer is ice cold. But as a friend of mine learned on a recent visit, it’s best to wash your hands before you pee … unless you really want to feel the burn. 4810 Spring Mountain Rd. 891-8889.; 3863 Spring Mountain Rd. Sun.-Thur., 12 p.m.-10 p.m. Fri. & Sat., 12 p.m.-11 p.m.